Storm of the Dead

by D. P. Sloan

  He contemplated just running down Douglas Street and along to his flat, he didn’t stay that far away from his work, his apartment was in a complex called, ‘The Bridge,’ on Argyle Street. He moved there with his wife and two kids, Maxwell who was eight and Madison who was six from Drumchapel, so both himself and his wife Michelle could be closer to their work. He sighed deeply, because as he was a police officer his main duty was to serve and protect the public. He couldn’t leave those things trying their hardest to get into that building. He couldn’t let the innocent people inside be attacked by these…..these zombies.

  He heard one of the glass walls begin to crack and knew deep down it was only a matter of time. He looked about and saw a metal frame that once held a road sign lying at the side of the road. He walked over to the road sign and placed one foot on part of the metal structure and started bending it back and forward until it eventually broke off. He now had an instant weapon. He knew deep down he should have grabbed a gun or two from the armour room in the police headquarters but all he was interested in was getting home to save his family. He lifted the metal makeshift weapon and started banging on the metal fence that surrounded the car park.

  “Oi arseholes, over here!” he shouted.

  The groans, the moans, the screams of the undead all turned to face him, “That’s right. Come on. Come and get some prime meat!”

  The dead moved away from the glass building and started to cross the once busy road towards Michaels.

  “That’s it. Come on. Come and get me you ugly dead fuckers!” he shouted loud.

  “Fooooooooooooddddddd,” came the unison war cry from the undead, as Michaels turned to his right and ran along into the car park by pushing the metal gate to the right. The dead followed, shuffling, shambling, and running towards him. Michaels entered the car park and saw a few parked cars or were they abandoned? Michaels agreed with himself they were abandoned. He ran between the cars, ducking and diving below them as the dead entered. He waited until he saw the last of the undead enter the car park. He watched as they started shuffling between the cars looking for him as he rolled under car after car after car, making his way towards the entrance/exit.

  The dead still searched for him, ripping open car doors and smashing windows looking for him. Michaels got to the front of the car park and stood up, he turned and looked across the car park, looking at the undead, smirked and ran out the car park pulling the gate closed behind him. The gate rattled as he began to close it causing the dead to turn around and see him. Then they moved towards him. Michaels pulled the gate closed and with his makeshift metal weapon, wedged it in between the gate and the gate post. He rattled the gate to see if it could be pulled open and was relieved that it couldn’t. He smirked and then gave a two-finger salute to the dead before turning and heading over to the glass building.

  He walked over with such a swagger that he didn’t notice the big seven-foot-tall, well-built dead man standing glaring at him as he neared the building. He saw the people inside the building scream and yell and point to the huge man but Michaels was oblivious, but as he neared his face became puzzled as they kept pointing and yelling at him. Then he saw the shadow of the big hulking dead man – and the shovel he held in his right hand. The hulking beast raised the shovel and brought it down on Michaels, but Michaels moved just in time as the metal shovel banged on the pavement. He ran towards the buildings doors and within a matter of minutes he was inside as the door was unlocked then locked again. He crawled backwards watching the man beast raise the shovel again and bring it down this time on the glass door. Once, twice, three times but the glass door wouldn’t budge, wouldn’t crack or smash.

  Michaels was helped up by the man that locked the door and a woman. Michaels noticed that the man that locked the door was a security officer.

  He nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you. Are you the security in this building?”

  “Was,” came the middle-aged security officers’ reply, “the name’s Tam Richardson. Been working here for God about seven years now and seen it all, the Savvy Suave clubbers pour out and down Douglas Street. I’ve seen prostitutes tout for business right there on those steps. I’ve seen clubbers having sex against the windows, but people eating people.” He shook his head, “I just can’t get my head round that!”

  “First of all, thank you for saving me and I’ll get to know each and every one of you soon but first my name is PC Ryan Michaels, I’ve been a police officer for around four years now and work out of Pitt Street headquarters. I left there today as my boss decided that we as public servants were to stay hidden in the basement of the headquarters, I refused and left as my wife is currently hiding in our flat literally around the corner with my son and daughter and I being a father wasn’t going to stay away from them. I saw this building under attack and knew what I had to do.”

  “And we appreciate it officer,” said the woman that helped him up with Tam. “My name is Marie Trainer, I work on the ninth floor for Auburn & Sons Insurance and was working late when this happened, and I just came down for a quick cigarette when they attacked. Tam locked the door quickly and we’ve all been trapped in here since.”

  “Well we are not trapped really officer,” came another voice from the group, “My name is Colin Murray I work tech support for AC Montgomery on floors one to seven. Anyway, there is a fire exit door through those double doors. There is also a staircase leading to the basement and there is the garage gate that leads to the lane out back, from there you can get out via the lane gate or even better we can head up to the roof gardens or the roof itself for added protection.”

  Michaels nodded, “Cheers Colin is it?”

  Colin nodded.

  Michaels continued, “We should get out of here as soon as possible but –“

  He was stopped in his tracks when a loud crash came from behind him. They all turned and stared out through the locked doors and glass windows, there the hulking brute stood, continuing to pound hard on the doors with the shovel, then they saw the dead climbing over the car park fence across the street.

  “Oh, for fuck sake!” Michaels screamed, “I thought I had them trapped!”

  “Don’t kid yourself officer,” Tam told him, “these…..these zombies – can’t believe I’m actually saying that,” he shook his head, “these zombies maybe dead but somewhere in their minds, they still act, behave and know what to do if they are trapped. They are still human none-the-less.”

  “Still dead though,” Michaels replied, “Shit, they are coming back over.”

  “Eh guys don’t want to alarm you all,” Colin yelled over to them as he stood behind the long red and black reception desk, he was watching the CCTV monitors.

  The rest of the people walked over to the desk and stood next to Colin as he pointed to the screens. “They are at our lane gate climbing over and under it and shit look over there!”

  The group looked up to where Colin was pointing now. The dead were surrounding the revolving door and the fire exit. Not just a few of them, there was at least a hundred of them.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Michaels screamed banging his fist against the hard-red plastic of the reception desk. “Right Tam. Are the roof gardens safer than the roof?”

  Tam went into the cupboard and retrieved a set of keys marked, ‘plant room & roof keys,’ and also a white access swipe card. “The plant room and roof are the most secure place from inside we can lock the door and no one can get in. If they do breach the door, then we have the roof where yet again we can lock that door from the outside and no one can get through. The roof garden is a magna-lock type door. The swipe card will give us access or able us to get back into the building, but like any magna-lock door, enough force enables the door to give way and open allowing people into the garden area.”

  Michaels nodded, “Plant room and roof it is then. Let’s go!”

  The group of survivors all followed Michaels to the elevator and pressed the button to open the door. They got in an
d Tam hit the button marked, ‘9,’ and the doors closed as Michaels smirked at the hulking beast with his army of dead still trying to get into the building. It took a mere six seconds to travel to the ninth floor and from there they all climbed the stairs to the roof. Tam opened the plant room door and once they were all in, he locked it again. Tam flipped the light switch and Michaels and the rest of the group looked around. Tam walked to his left and opened the roof door and the group followed him out onto the roof. Tam once again locked the door and Michaels began walking round the rooftop looking down onto the streets below and beyond.

  Surrounding the building as they knew were the undead. Not just tens of them but hundreds of them surrounded the building. Tam looked over the high wall down to the lane behind the building and saw more of the undead walk and shuffle their way to the car park gate.

  They were surrounded and knew it was probably for the best to stay on the roof for now anyway.

  “Okay,” Michaels began, “Where are we all from?”

  “I’m originally from Ayr but now stay in Paisley watching after my elderly mother. She’s not doing to good these days, forgets a lot but I just hope she stays indoors and doesn’t venture outside. She has a habit of just leaving the house at weird times,” Tam told the officer.

  “I’m from Drumchapel,” Marie told Michaels, “my mum is currently watching my two sons while I’m here. Their dad, my husband passed away.” She bowed her head.

  “Did the undead attack him?” Michaels asked.

  “No, he died in the line of duty in Afghanistan. A bomb went off next to him leaving…..leaving…..eh…..” Marie stammered.

  Tam put a comforting arm round the woman’s shoulders.

  Michaels nodded sympathetically, “it’s okay Marie you don’t have to continue.” He went over and gave her a tight cuddle.

  Colin interrupted by telling the group where he was from. “I’m from Knightswood, near the so-called shopping centre. I stay with my brother in a back and front door up and downstairs house. I tried phoning him but his phone just comes up dead ringtone so to speak.”

  “That’s okay Colin,” Michaels told him, “I heard the phone services are down at the moment something to do with a state of emergency. All phone companies have banned calls to anyone so police or indeed other emergency services can use the GPS signals to locate survivors.”

  “So, you are saying people are going to come and rescue us?” Marie asked.

  Michaels shook his head, “Unsure Marie but I’ll tell you this I am not waiting on anyone coming to save us. We are getting out of here and heading away from the city centre.”

  “And where are we going to go?” Tam asked, “Haven’t you seen the news? The whole of the city is under attack. The Clyde Tunnel fractured its walls and now the road leading into Govan is flooded. The Southside of Glasgow is overrun by those things. Partick, Knightswood, Clydebank and Drumchapel are all under attack as well as the East end of Glasgow. Nowhere and no one are safe.”

  “Look we will get out of this building,” Michaels began, “first step head to my house and I’ll get my family then head to Knightswood to pick up Colin’s brother and then onto Drumchapel and get Marie’s family. Then –“

  He was cut off by Tam.

  “What about my family?” Tam frowned.

  “If you let me finish,” Michaels began, “I was going to say, and once we pick up Marie’s family we head over to Paisley. Collect your mother and get the Hell out of Glasgow once and for all.”

  “But where do we go?” Colin asked.

  “Glasgow Airport,” Michaels began, “I have my light aircraft licence and my plane is stored in a hanger there. So, we head there board my plane and head into the clouds away from here.

  The three survivors looked at each other then turned to Michaels and in unison all nodded their heads.

  “Right we will wait here until dawn. Until then, each of us will take turns to stand guard while the others sleep. When it hits say 5AM we will get moving. Tam is there any cars downstairs in the garage?”

  Tam shook his head, “Unsure Ryan.”

  “My Peugeot eight seater is down there,” Colin piped up.

  Michaels smiled, “Excellent mate. Fantastic. Okay so we’ve got a ride just need to get out of here and we are good to go. For now, I’ll take first watch, Marie you will be second. Colin, you go third and Tam you go last. Okay?”

  The rest of the group nodded.

  Michaels smiled, “Right find a corner and bed down. Marie I’ll wake you in two hours.”

  CHAPTER 16

  DECEMBER 11TH 2011 – 0100HRS

  STRANDED IN SCHOOL

  Screams echoed loud in the school hall as the dead just didn’t give up. A group of pupils and teachers emptied the vending machines and raided the kitchen for food, drinks – hot and cold and then they sealed off the doorway to the hall which left them all in the same room together. A designated area for the toilet was cordoned off to the left of the stage and they built a wall around literally a bucket for privacy. When the bucket was full they all took it in turns to open up the hatch in the stage floor and pour it down there. Literally the bottom of the assembly hall became the sewer for their mess and rubbish.

  The dead banged and scratched at the boarded-up windows trying their best to get in to them, but anytime a hand or an arm or even a head poked through the boarded-up windows, the pupils attacked them, severing arms, stabbing them or even cutting off their heads. It was true after all – even severing their heads, the dead still lived! You had to destroy their brains. Katy watched as some of the boys from various classes took screwdrivers from the woodwork classes and forced them through the undead heads.

  The look on everyone’s faces as the boys did this was utterly disgusting but it was for survival and that’s what they all wanted to do – survive.

  Katy looked down at her phone and it still said, ‘no signal – emergency calls only,’ they couldn’t even get on the internet to check things out. Katy wanted to know what was actually going on out there. Was her Gregg alright? Were her parents alright? She looked up at her headmaster and he shook his head at her. In other words, no one was telling them anything.

  “Fooooooooooddddddddddd,” came the scream from the undead outside and then they heard a crash from the corridors outside the hall. They all stopped and turned towards the doors.

  “Right students,” Mr Kirk shouted, “stay together and away from that door.” He then nodded to a few other teachers who all armed themselves with various make-shift weapons made out of wood. He huddled them all together. Katy couldn’t hear what they were saying. But whatever Mr Kirk was saying it just didn’t feel good. The teachers then all disbanded, two teachers disappeared behind the stage curtains and out of sight. Katy waited until the other teachers’ backs were too her before she sneaked past them and through the curtains. From behind some stage props for the upcoming ‘Spellbound’ stage show she watched as the male teacher – Mr Roberts pulled a walkie-talkie out of his inside suit jacket pocket. He proceeded to switch it on.

  “Hello this is Graham Roberts, teacher at Drumchapel High School. Is there anyone out there? Over”

  Katy watched as he released the button and was met with static. The noise was annoying and lasted for a few seconds before he tried again. She crouched down and just listened again.

  “Hello this is Graham Roberts, teacher at Drumchapel High School. Is there anyone out there? Over”

  He released the button again and waited patiently.

  The radio played static for another few minutes and then voices came through. They all gasped for that split second.

  “Hello this is Graham Roberts, a teacher at Drumchapel High School is there anyone there? Over.”

  Within seconds of him releasing the button, a voice responded.

  “Hello this is Sergeant James Lomax of the Regiment of Scotland Infantry, over.” Came the voice from the radio.

  Katy gasped. The army answered what was going o
n?

  “Hi Sergeant, can you give us a status update please? Over,” Mr Roberts asked.

  “Graham update is simple; keep all students and other employees in the school hall. Glasgow is about to go on lockdown. We have been notified that it is a virus that got into the atmosphere and for some reason has mixed with the rain from the storm; more will follow once the team at the Health Organisation has concluded their tests. We are setting up a safety perimeter starting with Drumchapel, then other small towns before Glasgow is completely surrounded and blocked off from anyone entering or leaving the zones. Hope this answers your questions. Over.”

  “So just do what you told us to do earlier? Over,” Mr Roberts responded.

  “Exactly Graham. Inform all teachers but do not under any circumstances let the students know until we tell you too. This will be our last communication until 0630hrs. So, switch off the radio until then. Over and out.”

  Katy watched as Mr Roberts turned the radio off and placed it back in his inside jacket pocket. He then turned to the other teacher – Miss King, “Right Kathy are you ready to lie again?”

  Miss King shook her head, “I think it’s truly immoral not to tell the kids. I mean they should know. Their parents and siblings are in hiding or indeed injured. They need to know!”

  Mr Roberts shook his head, “All in good time, let’s just follow what the army has ordered and hopefully it’ll all end soon.”

  Miss King shook her head again, “Still say it’s wrong but we have to listen to them, don’t we? I mean they know what they are doing after all.”

  Mr Roberts nodded, “Of course they do Kathy, and it’s the Army after all!”

  They both turned and walked back towards Katy. She ducked down and out of sight as they both walked passed by her. Katy couldn’t believe her ears. The teachers kind of knew what was going on and here the pupils were scared stiff inside the school where they barricaded the windows and doors so these people didn’t get into them.